Merle Haggard still keeping it country

4:05 PM,
Oct. 30, 2013

Merle Haggard will perform at the State Theatre in Ithaca on Tuesday.

Written by

Jim Catalano
| Correspondent

One of the true legends of country music, Merle Haggard is set to come to the State Theatre of Ithaca on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. show.

Haggard has scored dozens of No. 1 hits during his 50-year career: "Swinging Doors," "Mama Tried," "The Fightin' Side of Me," "Sing Me Back Home," "Okie From Muskogee," "Workin' Man Blues" and many more. His recorded legacy is so vast that author David Cantwell has devoted an entire book to it, the just-published "Merle Haggard: The Running Kind."

Haggard's tales of the poor, downtrodden and other marginal members of society resonated with a wide audience during his ...